Seriously...Space Bags Work!

Have you seen all of the Spacebag commercials? Yeah, me too. I've debated about buying them almost as much as I have debated trying the Bumpits (has anyone tried these).

Target had them on sale, so I decided to give them a try.

In my process of cleaning out every drawer, I decided to tackle the Linen Closet.

Here is a small stack of special baby blankets that belonged to the girls and I:

The thought of protecting these blankets with a Spacebag was intriguing. Here is the before:


And the after:
It took a little bit of maneuvering, but it really worked!

And it was fun too! Hmm, where else can I use these little bags of goodness?

Bathroom Beautification

(I am so pleased to join Kelly's bathroom tour today. I just adore this sweet sister in the Lord don't you? So, if you have come from Kelly's Korner, welcome! Please, stay a while. I am so blessed by your visit to my blog!)

I have been working away and enjoying every moment.

Yesterday, I showed you a lamp and photo board redo. Today, I'll give you another glimpse into what I have been working on.

I have always wanted to jazz up the girl's bathrooms but I just wasn't sure what to do, so it's kind of been on the back burner, so to speak.

I finally had an idea

(yes, thank you I know it is summer but I think

my brain has returned-and I'm so thankful)!

There has been a blank space between the mirrors and the ceiling

which was just perfect for a little scripture...a daily reminder to start the day with the Lord.

This is Hannah's bathroom wall:

And this is Rachel's bathroom wall:

The walls are not perfect, but they are fun and not boring any longer. The best part of this bathroom beautification project? It didn't cost a thing...only a little time and lots of prayer.

Well, I'm off to do some more redecorating. I'll try to post more updates tomorrow. You can click here and here for the latest updates.
What are you tackling today?

Joyfully,

Kristi

Great Graduation Gifts for a Bargain

It's that wonderful time of the year where graduation announcements fill my mailbox and I begin to wonder what can I possibly give this student to celebrate their accomplishments without breaking the bank.

During my conference period I headed for Michaels, because well... I love Hobby Lobby...but when I only have 10 minutes to spare, Michaels fits the bill.

I quickly found these frames for $1.00 each.

...and then I found this scrapbooking paper and small wooden circles...my mind was reeling.

OOOH and ribbon to match (I adore ribbon)


On my lunch hour I painted the edges black.


Cut the paper to fit the framed opening...


and then had fun using Modge Podge to attach the paper to the wooden frames.

I covered the wooden circles with paper too and painted their minute edges as well.

I slathered on Modge Podge to the tops 2 more times and let it dry.



By the time school was over for the day, these little frames were dry and in need of some adornment. I hot glued (I heart my hot glue gun so much-we have finished many a project together and it has always served me well) the ribbon and the wooden circles and Voila!

Here are the finished frames...which were less than $3.00 each.


The special part was having the privilege of praying for the recipients as I crafted each frame.

And speaking of graduates....here is "V" on his high school graduation with our daughter Rachel who helped tutor him in Algebra II. Thank you for praying for "V."

Joyfully,

Kristi

What projects are you tackling today?

Drum Roll Please....We Put up the lights!

Call us the Griswold's, we finally put up the outside lights.

Here is what it looks like without the flash:

The snowflakes change colors:

We even wrapped the palm tree base:

It was a fun family effort!

If you need a gift idea, Hannah has one...it's inexpensive...it just requires a roll of duct tape and some paper:

She created a duct tape purse and hat for a friend.

Pretty creative, don't you think?

That's my tackle for today. I'm ready to tackle the last paper of the semester! Woo hoo!

What are you tackling?

Joyfully,

Kristi

A Tiny Tree Makeover

Hi Ya'll! I can't believe I haven't blogged in a week. Yikes!

I've been a bit busier than normal, and that is saying a lot.

We partied all week. My birthday, Mr. Incredible's Father's birthday, and Mr. Incredible's birthday... all in one week and it was a blast!

Rachel's basketball season began last week too. I just love watching my girls play ball! Hannah's season starts after Christmas.

I didn't have time to decorate on my birthday and that really got on my nerves. No time to decorate? The horror! Oh, I kid. After Rachel's game this weekend, Mr. Incredible hauled all of the stuff down from the attic. I have been forever banned. (I'll tell you this story another day.)He never looked hotter! I was so ready to get my house ready for Christmas that I could hardly stand it and he noticed!

I normally decorate the house (I save our family tree decorating for when we are all together) when my family is at work and school so as to protect them from my madness. I also like the fairy tale-like transformation that they see when the come home. That just didn't happen this year and you know what? I like it this way much better. It was fun to decorate the house with my girls while my man watched football. We had stuff everywhere and that is okay.

I am saving most of my pictures for Boo Mama's Christmas tour of homes on December 15th but I just had to share this project with you.

(I must confess, I really should be writing 3 of my last papers of the semester but I am taking a creative break and sharing it with you.)

I made this tree probably 9 years ago. I use to decorate my house in country blues and this tree looked so cute in my kitchen. We have been in our new home for almost 8 years now and I have never used this tree. It just didn't have the same look in our new house. Anyway, this year I was inspired to change it.

Here are the before pictures:

I hand painted all of the ornaments and the pot but I was tired of it.

Here are my supplies. I purchased them at my favorite store, Hobby Lobby.

The girls and I painted the pot with Burnt Umber:

And then we just had fun decorating:

I just love this fringe the I hot glued around the edge of the pot.

I heart my hot glue gun!


What do you think? Not bad for a 15 minute makeover. We felt like designers. Even Mr. Incredible thought it was fabulous!

That's one of my tackles for the week. What are you tackling?

Ta- Da!

Happy Tuesday to you! I have been trying to tackle the Christmas cards. We had family pictures taken in September. Sarah Green is our photographer and she did such an amazing job that it took me 2 months to narrow down my order.

The hardest part was picking out the Christmas card. I finally decided! Here it is .......

(For safety sake, I warped out our last name. The real cards will not have Sarah's name, but I am glad that they are on this one. She is a WONDERFUL photographer that we highly recommend!)

Yesterday was my birthday! Mr. Incredible's birthday is Thursday. He gets to rub in the fact that I am an older (Although we don't use that word OLD in our house anymore, right dear?) woman for 3 day!

We agreed that our gifts to each other would be our family portrait to be hung above our Austin Stone fireplace and the Christmas cards.

Here is the cake that he surprised me with:

I am way past 21. I think this was his way of saying, "I'm sorry!" :-)

My sweet girls surprised me with a James Avery Mortar board charm for my charm bracelet. We are all getting very excited about my May graduation! Thank you, Jesus!

We enjoyed a fun lunch together after church with my parents and they blessed me with a beautiful turquoise and red watch, necklace and earrings. They are beautiful!

My sweet nephews and sister-in-love and Uncle G surprised me with scrapbook paper (I was completely out after this summer's catch up month) and a Starbucks card. I'm stopping by for a treat today on my way to class.

Mr. Incredible's parents blessed me with money to buy a new cell phone. Mine has been on the fritz ever since the swim it took a few weeks ago.

I received these beautiful bookmarks in the mail yesterday. The came all the way from Singapore:

They were a surprise from my blogging friend Nancie. They arrived on my birthday. I felt so special. Aren't they beautiful?!

Okay, a few have asked about my new look. Remember, I live in Texas where the bigger the hair the better.

Okay, well here goes....



Taadaa! Not bad for an old woman, I guess! I'm still a work in progress!

What are you tackling today?

Joyfully,

Kristi

PS Snapfish is having a free ship special today. I just uploaded 50 pictures so that I can have fun with my new scrapbook paper when the pictures arrive. The code is: SHIPALLFREE You have to hurry. The offer is for today only!

Tackle it Tuesday-Tag You're It!

Brenda at Queen of Good Intentions blessed me with this award! Thank you Brenda. I ALWAYS enjoy my visits to your blog!

And....

My funny friend Kim tagged me this week. By the way, she has a fantastic give away going on this week where you might just win this:

Go check it out. You have until Thursday to enter!

Back to the tag: I am suppose to list 15, 15 really?, things about me that I am not afraid to admit. Bear with me, I'll try to make it quick:

1. I started listening to my favorite Christmas CD's this year on October 31st. Oh, yes I did. I adore "Ring the Bells" and "Jesus Saves" on Travis Cottrell's new Christmas CD.

2. I will put up my Christmas decorations on my birthday, November 17th, like I always do. Oh, wait! That is next Monday??? Well, I may have to wait until the weekend, or maybe not! Yes, I know it is BEFORE Thanksgiving!

3. I only have one more Christmas present to buy and then I am finished! Woo-hoo!

4. I have 100 tulip and daffodil bulbs chilling in my refrigerator. I can hardly wait to plant them in my vegetable beds. I hope they look as pretty as I imagine that they will in the spring.

5. I once called my eye doctor to schedule my annual female exam. (Aren't you glad that you kept reading my list?) I told the receptionist my name and why I was calling and then I just heard laughter. I think I changed eye doctor's after that. I mean, how could I look at them in the eyes after that!

6. I received my first speeding ticket while coming home from Baylor University in my hot Fiero. I was always told that if you were stopped by a police officer to simply say, "Officer there was a huge bug on my windshield and I was just trying to get it to fly away." So...I tried it...guess what? They do not care!

7. I always dreamed of having a daughter...God blessed me with two! I am so blessed!!!

8. I can't write a blog or comment on someone else's blog without using exclamation marks...lots of them!!!!!! I can't help it!

9. I can't stand the dollup of Daisy commercials...you know..."Do the dollup...do...do...the dollup of Daisy!" Ugh!

10. My nickname from childhood was "Too Tall." A boy at school called Hannah "Too Tall" the other day and I had to smile and then tell her my story. She thought that was cool. She is only 11 and already 5'9. Keep growing, baby!

11. My first job, besides baby sitting, as a teenager was as a ride operator for the parachute ride at Six Flags Over Texas. I loved it. I saw a guy propose to his girlfriend on the ride one day. It was a cool moment! Shout out to Six Flags...it was such a fun place to work!

12. My husband doesn't take me deer hunting any more...cause I might just holler, "Run, Bambi, run!" What's the problem with that?

13. I love to wear Bath and Body Work's Vanilla Bean Noel stuff this time of year. I put some on the other night and Hannah said, "I love it when you wear that. It smells like home."

14. I sleep walk when I am extremely tired. I woke up on the front porch once. I'm glad that I don't sleep in the nude! How does anyone do that??? Melissa, do you know? ;-)

15. I Love Lucy episodes make me so happy. Vitametavegamin anyone?


Whew! Okay, now I get to tag 5 people!

I am passing on the Superior Scribbler Award to and tagging:


1. Lea-she always makes me smile. She has an amazing testimony and her love for the Lord shines so brightly.

2. Sunni-She is a fellow Baylor Bear and such an incredible wife and mother. I love to see pictures of her daughter Ava and see what's cooking at her house. She is expecting another precious daughter very soon.

3. Tracy-She is truly inspiring! I always look forward to reading about her thankful heart and her incredible love for the Lord. Her posts are always uplifting!

4. Brenda-at Queen of Good Intentions. (I know you tagged me, but I just had to return the favor...I can't help it!) I am in awe of her creativity in her decorating and in her party planning abilities. She always has something fun going on at her house!

5. Melodye-She is such a sweet, gracious, and generous lady. I always look forward to reading about her adventures in motherhood.

Joyfully,

Kristi

Tackling the Giant Lantanas!

I did it! I tackled my Lantanas. Rumor has it that they can grow to be 6 feet tall. Guess what? Mine were well on their way. I really like Lantana. They are hardy in our Texas summers, have beautiful yellow blooms, and well....they just look nice in my garden. Trouble with Lantana is that they will become wildly out of control when you aren't paying attention. (I think this could be a spiritual analogy, don't you?)

I have had so much fun with my vegetable garden that I neglected the plants in my front flower beds. They were getting so tall, that I expected them to ring the doorbell and say, "Remember us? We have taken over the outside of your house and we need more room. May we come in?"

This time of year my allergies get the best of me whenever I work in the yard. Since I didn't have to sing a solo in church or anything I was willing to risk a few 100 hives.

I started pruning, and pruning, and pruning. I pruned back my Lantanas, hawthorns, mums, salvia, and my palm tree. I pruned until way after dark. I tried to bag what I could, but then I gave up and filled the back of Mr. Incredible, I mean Buzz's, truck. He was out of town, yet again, and missed all of the excitement. I completely filled the dumpster with all of my hard work. Here are a few pictures. (I'm sorry that they are not the greatest. Apparently, I lost all feeling in my arms and couldn't hold the camera steady but it was worth it!)

Here are my enormous Lantana plants:

Look! There is a large boulder in my flower bed that I hadn't seen since last year!

Look at the truck!

And now for the afters:

There really is a boulder! I just adore pansies! They are my favorite flowers to plant. They bloom under the harsh temperatures of winter and they look so cheerful despite their surroundings. (Hmm, another spiritual analogy, I think.)

Even the guard cats like the new look! What are you tackling today?